Evaluating Prerequisites for the Development of a Dynamic Test of Reading Competence: Feedback Effects on Reading Comprehension in Children

Abstract

Dynamic assessments are often assumed to produce more valid indicators of students’ competencies than do static assessments. For the assessment of reading competence, there are only a few, and very specific, approaches to dynamic assessments available, and thus there is almost no support for the validity of dynamic measures, compared to static measures. Against this background, we explain the theoretical and practical prerequisites for a dynamic test of reading competence. After describing the concept of dynamic assessments (particularly for the area of reading competence), three computer-based experiments are presented that implemented the core principles of dynamic assessment in the domain of reading. In these experiments different, theoretically derived feedback and prompting conditions were varied systematically. The results show the benefits but also the costs and shortcomings of the implementation of a dynamic test of reading competence. Finally, further challenges and subsequent stages concerning the development of a dynamic assessment tool in this domain are outlined.